THE leader of a Midland council has told of his “devastation” after the Government said it would not fund projects to rebuild crumbling schools.

Sandwell Council was among six local authorities which fought a High Court battle against the Government’s decision to scrap the £55 billion Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme last summer.

Hopes were raised when the authority, which had been earmarked £125 million to rebuild nine secondary schools, won a judicial review, but Education Secretary Michael Gove has now told the borough the BSF scheme would not be restored.

Council leader Coun Darren Cooper said: “This is not the end. We intend to see if there is any more we can do to fight this injustice and we will use every means at our disposal.

“This is a bitter, bitter blow for the young people in Sandwell.

“The decision is a disgrace and shows just how much this Government cares for ordinary hard-working families and their children.”

Mr Gove said that while the Government would meet the costs of terminating the contracts with private firms already brought in to construct the schools in affected areas, the BSF scheme would not be restored.

“I appreciate that the local authorities, and their representatives will be disappointed,” Mr Gove said, adding that his decision did not mean that there will be no new school buildings in these areas.

He said: “I want to ensure absolute fairness in the distribution of the resources at the my disposal.”